Belong (A McRoll in the REAL World Story by Mari, Sammy, and Ilna)
by ilna
Summary: A quiet, post-Thanksgiving day in the McGarrett-Rollins home. Part 10 of the 6th Annual McRoll in the REAL World Thanksgiving Marathon.


**Notes:** Readers and REAL McRollers - You are the best! We have appreciated each and every review. They really do mean the world to us. Thank you for joining us on another Thanksgiving Marathon!

A guest reviewer had a question about Part 8. It was posted as Chapter 2 of Expanding Family. We apologize for any confusion.

**Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

_Belong (A McRoll in the REAL World Story by Mari, Sammy, and Ilna)_

After breakfast Steve took Angie to get changed into her bathing suit and DJ went to change out of the minion pajamas Elizabeth 'couldn't resist' buying the previous week while Catherine went to put some laundry in the washer before going to change herself.

When the rest of the family entered his room, DJ was dressed in his green camo swim trunks and had taken out his Cousin Crew t-shirt to look at it for the twentieth time.

"You really like your shirt, hmm, honey? I'm happy," Catherine said as she placed a kiss on his head.

Nodding, he touched each letter. "C-o-u-s-i-n. C-r-e-w," he said and looked up at her and Steve, who was holding Angie. "Cousin Crew. Elizabeth helped me sound it out."

DJ rolled the word off his tongue and over in his mind. Lots of kids at his school talked about their cousins. Some had really big families with cousins of all ages. He learned from Joan that Chin and Kono were cousins. Joan even called Angie 'Cousin Angie'.

Running a hand over Cammie's fur he said, "I can't wait to wear it. I never had a cousin before."

Kneeling to his level, Catherine gave him a hug as Steve said, "And now you have so many."

Hugging her back and catching Steve's eyes, DJ nodded. Thinking about his new cousins, the kids all being so nice to him, showing so much love right from his first day, he placed the T-shirt back in his dresser drawer - right on top, and repeated Steve's words again with a beaming smile, "So many cousins."

* * *

"Swim me, Daddy!" Angie cried, running slightly ahead of his long strides as the family made their way toward the surf.

"Swim you?" he repeated. Grinning, he held his hands out for her. "Okay, come on."

Squealing with excitement, she raised her arms so he could lift her up and swing her onto his back. She wrapped her arms around his neck and held on tightly as he walked into the water. Once it was past his knees, he dropped down and began to swim, careful to keep his body up so Angie wouldn't go underwater without expecting it.

"Go fas' go fas'!" she entreated, clutching his neck as she rode on his back.

DJ, Catherine, and Cammie stopped at the water's edge, their feet in the water but little else, and watched the pair swim farther from shore. While DJ had played in the water since coming to stay with them, both Catherine and Steve had noticed he rarely went past mid-calf and never put his head underwater. With so much to adjust to already, they didn't push, but both hoped he'd come to love the water as much as they, and Angie, did.

"Steve's a good swimmer," DJ said.

"Yes, he is," Catherine agreed.

DJ looked up at her. "Are you good, too?"

She smiled. "I am. Steve's a little faster but … don't tell him I said so," she added with a wink.

DJ smiled and looked out at Steve and Angie who were making their way back to shore.

"You haven't been in the water much, have you?" Catherine asked gently.

He shook his head. "I never even went into the ocean 'fore I came here."

She smiled softly, crouching down to look at him. "Would you like to learn how to swim? We can teach you. Here, and at the pool at Elizabeth and Joseph and Grandma Ang's. Or you can take lessons at the Y. Angie did lessons there when she was really young. Since you're going to be living here, it's important you feel safe and confident around the water." She rubbed his arm. "But we can do it at your pace. We don't have to rush if you're not quite ready."

"I do want to learn," he said, "but … I'm a little scared."

She smiled reassuringly. "We can help with that, too."

"Mommy!" Angie cried out now that she and Steve were closer. "DJ!"

Steve stood, swinging Angie around and depositing her on her feet. She ran straight for Catherine, nearly bowling her over as she launched herself at her mother.

"Daddy swim me!" Angie told her, face bright and beaming.

"I saw," Catherine said, kissing her head. "You're gonna be swimming that distance yourself before too long, baby girl."

Angie smiled at DJ and pointed. "Daddy swim DJ," she said to Steve.

Steve glanced at Catherine and seemed to glean the gist of her and DJ's conversation from her expression. He looked at DJ and raised an eyebrow in question.

"Do you want a ride, buddy?" he asked.

DJ bit his lip uncertainly, glancing over at Catherine and Angie and then back at Steve. "I'm not too big …?"

Steve smiled, shaking his head. "Not at all. I've done it plenty of times with people a lot bigger than you. Sometimes more than one at a time."

DJ's eyes widened at that. He still looked a little uncertain as he glanced at Angie whose face and hair were wet. "Do I have to put my face under?"

"Not if you don't want to," Steve said. "Angie likes it so she does that, but you don't have to."

"I just don't want to fall off," he said quietly.

Steve squatted down directly in front of him so he could look the young boy in the eyes. "You hang on to me and you won't fall off. I promise I'll keep you safe."

DJ's worried expression eased at that, his subconscious inherently understanding that Steve's words were true far beyond a short swim.

Steve smiled. "And I bet Cammie'll come with us, too."

DJ grinned, looking at the dog beside him. She'd stayed close every time he was near the water, seeming to sense his feelings.

"Swim DJ!" Angie said again.

"Only if he wants to, Angie," Catherine said. She smiled encouragingly at DJ. "Your decision, honey."

DJ looked out at the gentle ocean waves and then back at Steve. His smile grew excited. "Okay. Swim me."

* * *

"Have you flown on lots of airplanes?" DJ asked later as he helped Catherine put away the freshly folded laundry.

"I guess I have," she replied.

He toed the carpet. "I've never been on a plane." He turned his wide eyes on Catherine. "What if I get scared? When we fly to Nonna's I mean."

Catherine stopped what she was doing and focused all her attention on the young boy. "Well, I'll be there. So will Steve and Angie. And Danny and Grace and the Allens. And Elizabeth and Joseph."

"Everybody is flying on the same airplane?"

"Pretty much." Catherine closed the drawer of Angie's dresser. "We'll all be right there if you need anything. That's why it was good we bought the tickets months ago. So we could all be together."

"But how did you know to buy one for me?"

Catherine took a seat in the rocking chair and lifted DJ into her lap. "We didn't know the ticket would be for you specifically. We knew we wanted to add to our family and we weren't sure it would happen before Christmas but in case it did we wanted to have a ticket ready so whoever was joining our family would get a chance to meet Nonna and all the New Jersey family."

Her answer seemed to satisfy his six-year-old mind and he moved quickly to the next topic. "I start school with Elizabeth tomorrow."

"I know. Are you excited?"

"Kinda. I was a little scared about not knowing the answers to stuff but Jacob said Elizabeth helps him with his homework and she's really nice even when he doesn't understand at first."

"She's a great teacher. If you don't understand just tell her and she'll help you until you do."

"Okay."

Steve and Angie, fresh back from walking Cammie, appeared in the doorway with the happy canine on their heels.

"Mary called to say they made it home safe and sound," Steve said. "All Joanie could talk about the whole way home is that soon they'll be flying to Nonna's. Apparently she's marking off the days on a little calendar your mom gave her."

Catherine chuckled. "I ordered pizza. It should be here in about 10 minutes."

"Do you think they put pineapple on pizza in New Jersey?" DJ asked.

"I'm not sure." Steve grinned. "You should definitely ask Danny that."

* * *

"Mo' book, Mommy," Angie insisted, even as she rubbed sleepy eyes.

"One more," Catherine agreed. "We have a special one to finish with tonight."

Steve reached over for a book on the nightstand and handed it to her. They were all on DJ's bed at Angie's insistence. Catherine sat against the headboard with Angie curled in her lap, and DJ was under his covers, leaning into Catherine with Steve on his other side. Cammie lay at the foot of the bed, staying close to her family.

"We haven't read that one before," DJ said.

"No, this is a new one," Catherine said, smiling at him. "It's called _You Belong Here_."

"Wead, Mommy," Angie said, snuggling closer against her chest.

Catherine opened the book and began reading the gentle, rhyming text. " 'The stars belong in the deep night sky / and the moon belongs there too, / and the winds belong in each place they blow by / and I belong here with you.' "

DJ pressed closer, gazing at the beautiful grayscale illustrations and listening to Catherine's soothing voice.

She continued, reading about whales and waves, trees and birds, all where they belong.

As she read, Angie stroked her thumb where it held the edge of the book, the toddler's eyes starting to close as she dozed.

" 'And you belong right here, where you're home, / and where I hold you close. / Of all the wonders I've ever known, / you're the one I love the most.' "

Steve smiled softly, squeezing DJ's hand when the young boy sought his out.

The reassuring text continued with more animals, plants, and even seasons right where they belong. Catherine kissed Angie's head softly and kept reading.

" 'And you are a dream that the world once dreamt / and now you are part of its song. / That's why you are here, in the place where you're meant / for this is right where you belong.' "

Now DJ's eyes began to droop and a small yawn escaped as Catherine read the final few pages before the ending.

" 'And no matter what places you travel to, / what wonders you choose to see, / I will always belong right here with you, / and you'll always belong with me.' "

Letting the final words of the book linger in the air, Catherine quietly closed it and placed it to the side.

"Be'on," Angie murmured, half-asleep, reaching out to touch DJ's hair.

"That's right, baby girl," Catherine said quietly, kissing her head. She smiled at Steve and they both looked down at DJ who had fallen asleep between them, a small, contented smile on his face.

"We're all right where we belong."

* * *

**Hope you enjoyed!**

**Book: **_You Belong Here_ by M.H. Clark and illustrated by Isabelle Arsenault (Compendium, 2016). You can search for it on YouTube if you'd like to see the whole book. It makes a great bedtime story :-)

**Note:** Thank you again for joining us for the Thanksgiving Marathon! We're back to our regular MWF posting schedule tomorrow, but never fear! Christmas at Nonna's is right around the corner!

_Find all our stories (in chronological order!) on our website: marirealmcroll dot wixsite dot com backslash real-mcroll_

_Or in the McRoll in the REAL World community here on fanfiction dot net_

_Find us on Tumblr: mcrollintherealworld dot tumblr dot com _

_You can still join our mailing list by emailing us realmcroll at yahoo dot com with Add me, please! in the subject line._

_And find Mari on Twitter at Mari21763 and add #REALMcRoller _


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